~Stop Food Waste

A new study, Vision 2020: UK Roadmap to Zero Food Waste to Landfill sets the framework for a food waste-free UK by 2020, and is backed by local authorities and industry experts.  The ambition is to save the UK economy over £17bn a year through the reduction of food wasted by households, businesses and the public sector, and preventing 27m tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions a year. Composting food waste through processes such as anaerobic digestion could return over 1.3m tonnes a year of valuable nutrients to the soil, the report says, and generate enough power for over 600,000 homes. The report highlights where and why food waste is happening at each stage of the UK supply chain; what actions are being taken to tackle food waste in each sector and what more can be done in the future to drive the positive environmental, economic and social outcomes. Compulsory food collections by local authorities are key to the new campaign – currently only 40% of councils have separate food waste collections. The Local Government Authority, which was involved in the report, says if "food contamination" of recycling
was halved by 2020, it would save £1bn. The devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are now consulting on banning food into landfill, but not England. The campaign is led by food waste recycling company ReFood – in collaboration with BioRegional, a sustainable business charity – as part of the Vision 2020 campaign supported by national and local government as well as industry. Sue Riddlestone, chief executive of BioRegional said: "Achieving zero food waste to landfill within the next seven years is a big challenge and we will need the support and actions of individuals, businesses and the government if this vision is to be realised. However, the case for change is compelling. We will save billions of pounds. We will prevent millions of tonnes of greenhouse gases from entering our atmosphere. And crucially, we will ensure that food is treated as a precious resource."